Affliction
by Evalea
Summary: Reyna has been chosen, not as a sacrifice, but as something worse. Even though she's not in the military she still works with her brother, Roy Mustang, to help deal with the state of the country. But when feelings with a 2nd Lieutenant are thrown into the mix and a checkered past comes back to haunt her, can she survive until the Promise Day? M for language and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! I've had this stuck in my head since I started rewatching the FMA:Brotherhood series and I couldnt write for any of my other fics until I got this one out so let me know what you all think!**

She walked down the hallway of Eastern Command with her head lowered and her hood hiding her face as much as it could. Seeing black boots coming towards her and heard the stomping of a heavy metal suit she moved to avoid them but she had to push past the shorter blonde one in order to avoid running into an officer. She knew where she was going, she had never been in central before but she had seen the Flame Alchemist from a window while he was on the phone and it was time that he saw her. Once she made it she stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. It had been years since she'd seen him.

When she opened the door she was surprised to see a table full of people working and on the phones but she didn't let it stop her she walked right past them. A man with blonde hair and a cigarette stood up, attempting to stop her, "Ma'am we need to see some identification."

She lifted her hand and he went flying against the wall and immediately the only other woman in the room had guns drawn on her, "Lower your hood now or I'll shoot."

"I was hoping to speak to the Colonel." She turned looking at the woman, the only thing visible from under her cloak was an eye, a dark purple, piercing eye.

"Impossible." Riza muttered. Just then Mustang bust out of his office.

"What's with all the commotion." He said then noticed the hooded figure. She wore black leather shorts and ankle boots, leaving all of her legs revealed, her top was the same material and the under shirt was red with a brown vest over it. The cloak seemed to be made of simple cloth and was black. The strangest thing he noticed was that one of her arms was wrapped with medical tape, it went down to her hands but not her fingers and no higher than her elbows on either arm. He put his hands behind his back, sliding an ignition glove on, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"All I want is to see you." She had still yet to turn to look directly at him, her eyes still stuck to the woman who held the gun on her.

"Tell me who you are." Roy gritted.

"Are you sure you want to do that here? Man who would be Fuhrer?" He saw her smirk and when he was about to snap his fingers her eyes went to his and he knew immediately who she was.

"Reyna?" His voice was quiet. She smiled and lowered her hood, revealing her strong but feminine features and her long black hair, "I thought…"

Riza finished what he couldn't say, "We thought you were dead. I could have killed you just now."

"I should be. And no you wouldn't have." She looked at the woman who was holstering her gun, "I'm quicker than most."

"Why didn't you just tell us who you were?" Roy almost yelled.

"I know you and I know her, I don't know them." She motioned to the rest of the men in the room, noticing the blonde on still on the ground.

"Since when did you become so untrusting?" Roy leaned on the wall.

Reyna began walking over to the blonde man, "Since my father tried to burn me alive."

She knelt down beside him, "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"I don't think so." Jean was taken aback by how beautiful she was, that and how amazing her figure was, and of course how well-endowed she was. He tried to stand but a pain in his chest that he clutched stopped him, "Nevermind maybe a broken rib."

"I'm sorry. I don't realize my own strength sometimes." She smiled at him before placing a hand where his had just been, "Relax."

The room watched as a blue light came from her hand and as soon as it was gone she helped Jean stand up. Roy was shocked, "You know medicinal Alchemy?"

"I know a lot of things, but yes, I learned it in Xing." She turned to look at him, "So I assume that I can trust these people?"

"I trust all of them with my life, you're safe here." He knew there must be some reason she was like this now despite what had happened with her father he introduced her to the rest of the men and she once again apologized to the man she now knew as Jean. Roy was still amazed that she was alive, "They said that bodies had been recovered, you and your father were pronounced dead."

"No it wasn't me, and I highly doubt it was him. He had two lab assistants, one male and one female. It was probably them." She leaned against the table.

"Then where have you been for six years?" He was almost angry.

"Everywhere but in Amestris. I had to get away from him. I travelled through Drachma, Creta, and Aerugo, then through the desert to Xing. A few months ago I got the feeling that it was time to come home, and you're the only home I have left Roy." She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's good to have you back Reyna." Riza said smiling then gave her a hug. Reyna couldn't help but enjoy the hug, she hadn't known Riza very well but a familiar face along with Roy made her more comfortable.

"I can agree with that." Roy smiled too, realizing that she really was here, "Let's talk alone."

She nodded, knowing he was going to have a lot of questions. When the door closed she was engulfed in his arms and soon returned the gesture, squeezing him tightly. His voice was shaky, "I searched the remains of the house for any sign that it wasn't you, I even looked at the bodies but they were so badly burnt even I couldn't tell."

"It's okay Roy. I wanted to tell you I was alive but I didn't want to put you in danger." She pressed her head to his chest, she had missed him more than anything else in the world.

"What is this all about?" He lifted up her arm that was wrapped, but he refused to let her go yet.

"Part of that danger I was telling you about. When I was trying to get out of the fire a beam broke and landed on my arm while it was on fire. It took a minute to get it free and within a week it was completely healed, except for this." She undid her wrappings and he looked at what seemed like transmutation runes and circles that were only complete in the area that had been burned but the ones at the top and bottom were only pieces of them, "This is why Riza wouldn't have been able to kill me. I've been shot before and it only happened again."

He watched as she lifted her shirt to reveal black spots on her stomach and back in the same trajectory that a bullet would take, "Once again, about a week or so and it was healed and this is what was left. I discovered it gave me a special alchemic talent. I don't need to draw a circle or anything, all I have to do is think about it and it happens."

"What kind of ability is it? Medicinal?" He led her over to a chair and sat down across from her, keeping her hands in his.

"No, that's just one that I learned while in Xing. It seems I'm good at elemental alchemy."

"What do you mean elemental?"

"Earth, air, wind and fire." She said as wondering how he didn't know what that meant, "Don't worry, I'm not as good as you with Fire alchemy."

"How do you do them without transmutation circles?" He was now concerned thinking about the Elrics.

"I just think about it." She said lifting one of her hands and he watched as the dirt from the plant in his office lifted and moved into the palm of her hand.

"So these scars help you do that?"

"I guess. I don't really know where they're from but every time that something damaging happens to my skin more form. I didn't think it was safe walking around with alchemic scars was a good idea so I cover them up." She explained covering up her arm.

"I'm just glad you're alive." He wrapped his arms around her again, "How did you find out about the Fuhrer?"

"I talked to Madame Christmas, that's how I found out where you were." She smiled and he returned it.

"She told me your plan, and I'm not going to join the military, but I'm with you if you need me, brother." She stood up.

"Of course, having someone on the outside that can move without being seen would be a great addition." He grinned at her, "Looks like we're back to being trouble makers."

"We never stopped, we just stopped working together." She grinned back and turned towards the door opening it.

He followed her out, "Where are you going?"

She turned to look at him with a laugh forming on her face seeing his look of concern on his, "Don't worry Roy I'm not going to disappear again for six years. Only a few hours to go get a hotel room."

"No, you're staying with me until we can go through the papers of your fire again. See if we can figure out where your father is. I'm not letting him get to you again." Roys voice told her not to fight him so she just nodded at him.

"Well then what do you need me to do?" She said with a smile and he looked at Falman.

"Falman, go find whatever you can on Raymond Duval and the fire at his residence." The man saluted him and left the room.

"Should have known you would have ended up in the military, you always did like giving orders." She grinned sitting down and didn't miss the smile that ghosted across Rizas face.

"I did not." He glared at her.

"Oh you so did. You always had to be the one in charge." She called him out and squinted her eyes, "Don't make me give examples in front of your men."

He opened his mouth to reply, then thought better of it, "I'll let you have it this time."

She laughed as he went back into his office. All of them looked over at her. The man named Breda looked at her with a smile, "We've only ever seen the Lieutenant shut him down that fast."

"She's known him a lot longer than I have." Riza said looking over at the girl then her eyes grew wide as she watched her pull out a cigarette, "Reyna since when do you…?"

"Since I got shot, it helped me keep my breathing calm, a Drachman taught me the trick while he was stitching it up."

She sat there answering their questions until Falman returned with the papers and they began looking through trying to find any trace of her father. Jean couldn't stop looking at her and Roy noticed it. He ended the day early, wanting to take her to dinner and get her anything else she needed. When he discovered how little she actually had and that she had been living with almost nothing for her entire adult life. He bought her some new clothes and a nice dinner and when they got back to his home he set up a place for her in the spare room and they sat on the couch and continued going through the papers, like they both knew they would once they got home and eventually she fell asleep on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her laying her down on top of him. He never thought he'd have his sister in his arms ever again, knowing that she was alive would have been enough, but having her with him made everything else not so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

They had packed their stuff and headed to Central since Roy had been requested to go for some military reason that she didn't really care about but he refused to leave her behind. She curled up on the train, not used to riding one, always having walked everywhere and watched the trees go by. She heard a voice next to her and turned to see Jean, "Colonel wanted me to check on you. He hates that you weren't able to sit with us but since you aren't military."

"It's fine, I'm used to being alone." She smiled at him. He sat down across from her and offered her a cigarette which she took and opened the window next to her just slightly.

"So you were really on your own for six years?" He lit the end of the paper for her with a match.

"Well sometimes I had someone that was going the same direction as me, or they just wanted to get away from where they were and didn't have the means to get there other than traveling with me. But most of the time I was alone yes." She exhaled smoke.

"That must have been hard for someone so young." He leaned back in the chair.

"I wasn't that young, I was like seventeen or eighteen. Plus I knew some basic alchemy which helped and the more I learned the easier it got." She smiled at him.

"Well I'm that you made it around safely enough." He smiled back. She enjoyed his company, he was a simple man who was very sweet. Roy had been teaming them up a lot together with the papers that he had been having them all go through, "I was beginning to go stir crazy back there, I'm not allowed to smoke."

"Stay as long as you like." She smiled at him and he always enjoyed the sight but he knew that she had something going on with the colonel so he knew better, but she still made for a great friend, "I always go stir crazy in those military offices, I don't know how you all do it."

"Well it isn't always that boring." He looked out the window, "You just caught us at an uneventful time."

"How eventful is eventful to you guys?" She peered over at him, despite his relaxed demeanor, his jawline was still strong.

He returned to looking at her, it was a better sight than the trees passing them by, "Well anytime the Colonel uses his alchemy is always sure to mean that something interesting is happening."

"Still sounds kinda boring." She laughed.

"It can be." He laughed and they continued their ride to central.

She enjoyed her stay in central, she hadn't been since her mother had been alive. Roy gave her money to go shopping with and as much as she hated it, and the fact that he sent a body guard with her, she knew better than to refuse. Thankfully Roy had sent Jean with her and not someone like Falman, she respected and liked the man but he was kind of awkward to have a conversation with. But having someone with her at all was somewhat awkward. She looked over at Jean while they walked, "At least he didn't send you in uniform I probably would have killed him."

"You don't like the uniform?" He picked on her.

"No I just don't like being escorted around and if you were in uniform it would look more like that than ever." She tried to hide her discontempt, "Not saying that I don't enjoy having you around but I am an adult."

"One whose father might still be trying to kill her." He pointed out.

"That always has to get brought up." She played like it was no big deal but he could tell she was making a joke at Mustangs expense, "I still cant believe he makes me do this, I've spent the past six years with nothing more than the clothes on my back and now he wants me to fill a closet. It's crazy."

"I think he feels guilty." Jean smiled at her as they stopped to buy coffee.

"I know he does, but that doesn't mean that he should. Or that he should make me dress like a maiden. I need to know where Riza shops." She groaned looking at the dresses in the window next to them.

"You have two bags, I think that's good enough."

"More than enough for me."

"I'll just tell the Colonel that you much preferred sightseeing to shopping." He winked at her.

She couldn't help but smile and could feel a slight blush across her face, "You would lie to the infamous Flame Alchemist for me?"

"I'd do anything for a pretty lady." He smiled.

"So I've heard." She laughed and he looked at her shocked, "Breda isn't exactly the quietest, and neither are you I might add."

"And now I'm embarrassed." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't be. I've heard a lot about Roy too." She laughed they got back to her hotel and he said he would walk her up and stay until Roy got back but she refused, "You have work to do and already I have taken you away from it enough. I'll deal with Roy if he has a problem. I promise."

"Okay then you have a nice night, you know all the numbers if you need anything." He waved and she nodded. She went upstairs and put her stuff away. She looked out the window and saw something that caught her eye.

Quickly she made her way down stairs and to the store she had seen. She checked every corner to make sure that none of the members of her brothers team were coming to check on her and she managed to get all the way down to the store without an issue. She walked in and spoke to the store clerk, "What kind of lighters do you have?"

The man showed her all different kinds but the one that was square and refillable she couldn't take her eyes off of, she looked up at the man, "I'll take that one and fuel."

"Alright that will be 700 cens." She quickly handed the money to the man and left with her bag making her way back to her room and she made it inside and put the bag away just in time for Roy to walk in the room.

"I have to work late tonight, it seems as if an old friend has begun killing military officers." He said washing his face, "If I need your help I'll send someone for you, otherwise stay inside."

"Yes mom." She groaned, "I'm an adult Roy, just because the last time you lived with me I was seven doesn't mean that I cant take care of myself now."

"I know but I don't want you exposing yourself unless I need you." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and left.

They spent two days looking for this Freezer guy that Roy had told her about and finally there was a knock on her door she opened it up to see Jean, "Thank god, I was about to kill myself from bordem."

"Mustang has a plan and he needs your help." He smiled at her and she nodded putting on her boots then following him down the hallway.

* * *

><p>She watched from the other buildings as Roy talked to the guy and she watched as the man drenched him in water, leaving him ultimately useless. She followed him on rooftops but far enough to where he could see her and waited for the signal from Roy.<p>

The signal didn't come but red lights from all over the city began appearing and she knew she didn't have time once a giant wall of ice began moving through the city. She ran jumping onto the roof across from where it was going and when Armstrong hit the front of the wall it changed direction cutting her off. She tried to get a head of it but it was going to fast. She looked for anyone she knew, the Elrics, Armstrong, Jean, or Roy but no one was there and so she made the choice. She jumped from atop of the building and slowed her fall with the air and began spewing fire at the front of the wall and it only slowed it down.

When more exploded up they blew her out of the way and she ran for a roof top, trying to see where it was going. When she realized that it was leading to central she knew she had to do something, Roy might be there. She ran to where the nearest red flare had been and saw a transmutation circle. Reyna quickly dropped down and began burning through the ice and once she had it back far enough she stomped on the circle breaking the ground into little pieces with her alchemy. Quickly she moved to the next. And eventually she ran into Roy and Armstrong. Her brother looked at her, "Good job Reyna, even though you didn't wait for your signal."

"I didn't have time too." She waited to see how he was going to react.

"I guess you don't need a guard 24/7. You seem to know how to handle yourself. That and you've already gone out without one." He smirked.

She cringed, "I was hoping wouldn't find out about that."

"I saw you walking down the hallway." He walked up to her and the three walked back to central.

* * *

><p>"Oh Raymond, guess what?" Lust spoke as she turned into the room he was in.<p>

"What, you have another specimen that will die after one experiment." He sighed.

"No, reports of your daughter being sighted in the fight with Isaac have started coming in. I thought you might like to know that shes with the Flame Colonel."

"Really now. Of course Roy would be the thing to bring her back." He grinned, "Where is she now?"

"He's stationed in the East so probably there."

* * *

><p>Reyna headed up to bring everyone lunch Roy had had them all working through the days finishing up reports and not even he got a break. She had been doing this every day for the past week and they all greatly appreciated it. Roy had stopped forcing spending money on her and she was very grateful about it. She made him dinner every night when he got home and forced him to do the dishes, just like when they were kids.<p>

"Havoc, please walk Reyna home today." Roy ordered once she had gotten done with her food delivery.

"Roy, I'm fine, I've made the trip by myself today multiple times without any issue."

"I still want him to walk you home." He closed his door without another word.

Jean and Reyna both sighed but did what he asked. They talked on the way back to Roys home and joked about how he had been acting and when they got to the door she remembered, "I've been forgetting!"

She went inside and grabbed the lighter and fuel, "So you don't have to use matches anymore."

He smiled at her, "Thanks! This is awesome!"

"I saw it and knew that I had to get it for you. Or well Roy did." She laughed.

"Its great! Thank you Reyna!" He pulled her into a hug and she couldn't flight her blush as she wrapped her arms around him as well. He has a strange smell to him, one that only had a tinge of smoke, and she realized it was his cologne. Jean knew that he should try to not get so close to her, that nothing would ever happen with the Colonel around, but he tried to enjoy every moment he could get before the Colonel told him to back off, which he was surprised hadn't happened yet.

He said goodnight to her and headed back to command.

Roy had sent Jean to tell Reyna that he wouldn't make it home for dinner that night, that they had to work late and as soon as he watched the man leave from eastern command he couldn't help but smirk at himself. The phone rang and when he picked up he was surprised to hear that it was Reyna calling him, "Hey Rey, cant make it home tonight-"

She cut him off, "Roy, please, he's found me. I think I've lost him, I'm in the warehouse district. Please come find me!"

"Which warehouse are you closest too?" He almost screamed into the phone.

"Two I think. Please, oh god, hes found me!" The last thing Roy heard was her screaming.

"All of you with me now, were going to the warehouse district!" He put on his jacket as he walked and the others fell in behind him.

"Sir?" Riza asked

"He's got Reyna."

* * *

><p>Envy hung up the phone and smiled at Raymond, "Well there you go, he should be on his way, why didn't you just capture her anyways?"<p>

"Because now she's much too strong for me to face her without her having some sort of weakness. So Mustang will just have to do."


	3. Chapter 3

That night she made dinner like always and when Roy never showed she began to get worried. When there was a knock on the door she went over to answer it and was genuinely surprised to see Jean, "What's wrong?"

"We have to work late tonight. Colonel just wanted me to let you know." He shrugged.

"He couldn't have called." She rolled her eyes but then sighed, "Well I guess I'll just bring him dinner then."

"I'm sure he'd like that."

"There's enough for you too if you want, I over cooked a little tonight." She looked up at him and he nodded and she made him a bowl as well as one for Roy and turned to smile at him, "Escort me to command?"

He nodded and they briskly began walking back to where he had just left from. When they got there the guard standing duty saw him, "Ah Second Lieutenant Havoc! Colonel Mustang wanted us to give you this."

REYNA IN TROUBLE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT BUILDING 2

He read the sheet of paper and she looked over his shoulder and instantly they both knew something wasn't right, since she was perfectly fine. He ran over to where the military use cars were and got in on the drivers side and she went to the passengers and he was off to the warehouses.

As they drove he saw the look of determination and fear in her eyes, "Do you think its him?"

"I don't know who else it would be." She looked down at her bandaged arm, "He knows that I'm too strong now, to long out of his influence for him to confront me one on one, so he went after Roy, my only weakness."

"But the rest of the team is with them, and the Colonel has his alchemy." Jean tried to make her feel better.

"I know, but my father has ways around that, he can knock people out in a second." She formed her hand into a fist, "Jean, if it is him then we need to be careful, he's set up a trap I know it."

"Then what's our plan?" He looked at her as he put the car in park.

"You get the others out safely, I'll deal with my father." She said as they got out of the car. When they got to the door of Warehouse 2 she stopped him from opening the door, "Jean I need you to promise me that you will only get the others out no matter what, leave me behind if you have to, knock Roy out if you have to but get them out first."

She saw him hesitate and he saw as her face changed from determined to pleading and his heart couldn't handle it, "Please Jean. Promise me."

"I promise." He placed a hand on her shoulder and sadly smiled at her. They both nodded and he opened the door.

It was dark in the warehouse until a single light came on and Roy and the rest of his team were seen chained to the wall. He spotted them as his eyes adjusted to the light, and couldn't help but yell at her despite knowing that she would come when she found out, "REYNA GET OUT IT'S A TRAP!"

She and Jean ran over to him since he was the closest to them and they both began trying to get the cuffs off of him, "Of course it is."

Reyna only stopped when she heard a voice behind her, one she had never hoped to hear again, "You knew it was yet you still came, that must mean that you miss me, miss the power I gave you."

"No I came here to get Roy back." She gritted her teeth at the man. He had aged more than she would have expected and the light reflecting off of his glasses made him more evil looking than he had before but she knew that's just how evil he was.

"Well it doesn't matter because you are going to be the most powerful person in the world once I'm don't here today and your precious Roy wont be around to see it, none of them will!" He began laughing and flipped another switch on the wall and the floor lit up into an array of symbols, her dad wasn't an alchemist, he had to be doing something else to make this happen. She remembered the symbol though, it was the way that he made their house catch on fire. She didn't have much time to think about it before the wind began picking up in the room and she was beginning to get dragged towards the outside of the circle, she had a bad feeling that if she passed through that it would further the marks on her body.

Jean forgot all about his promise and grabbed her by the arm, holding onto mustangs shackles so that they wouldn't fly away. Reyna didn't stop him, she was too busy looking around trying to find a way to make it stop before it burst into flames from an energy build up. She noticed that the circle was made up of wires and that they were hooked into the wall and if she broke those she would be able to end it. She saw her father holding onto a railing on the other side of the circle from the connection and she knew she could make it there before he did.

She tried to pull away but Jean had her wrist to tight, "Jean let me go!"

"Havoc don't you dare!" Mustang yelled.

"Roy if I don't stop this then the place will go up in flames and everyone will die!" She screamed over the roaring wind that was threatening to lift her body off of the ground.

"I just got you back I'm not losing you again!"

"You wont I promise." She looked from him to Jean, "Jean let me go, you promised remember!"

Jean thought better of it until she looked at him with sheer fire in her eyes, "Trust me Jean."

He did and let her go and before her body got picked up she stomped her foot into the ground and it made it to where she wasn't getting picked up by the air. She continued to walk like this as her father was yelling at her, "Look at the power you have now! Walk into the circle and you can have even more!"

"Never! I don't want any more power! I never wanted any in the first place!" She screamed and noticed she was getting dangerously close to the transmutation circle but she was almost to the conduit.

Jean and Roy held their breath watching her move slowly, fighting the air, making sure it didn't take her off her feet, and hoped that Jean hadn't made the wrong decision. They watched as she knelt down and placed her hands on the wires trying to pull them out, screaming in pain as the power coming from them, coming from the circle, ripped through her flesh.

She knew what she had to do, she wrapped the loose cables around her right arm, her good unmarked arm, since it was the strongest and she pulled, it was stripping her flesh away but she felt it coming loose. Finally she added a burst of her own air and the cable came flying out and the bright lights of the circle went away. She quickly turned on her dad as Jean began trying to undo Mustangs shackles once again.

"You son of a bitch. Trying to play God." She spoke through gritted teeth as she approached him, "I'm not some animal to train into killing for you. I'm not some weapon to make you more powerful than everyone else!"

"I wasn't making you for me. They told me to make you, and you were the perfect specimen, you were stronger than all the others, your mother and I made the perfect mix of strength and knowledge." He rambled on like the crazy man she knew he was, "They will come for you one day, once all of the markings are there, I was just trying to make that day today for you, speed up the process."

"I'm sick of hearing you talk." She said hitting in in the nose when she got to him. Once she started she couldn't stop. Roy and Jean were now working on his second cuff trying to get to her with the pool of blood from her arm that was completely skinned and they knew she was going to pass out soon. When Roy got out of the shackles Jean moved to Riza and Roy ran to his sister.

"Reyna!" He pulled her off of her father and saw the tears streaming down her face and the blood soaking her clothes and it made his heart break. She had lost so much blood that now that the adrenaline rush was off she was close to passing out.

Jean had finished with Riza and she ordered him to go and help Mustang. When he joined the man holding the bloody girl up his eyes were horrified by the sight of the young beauty covered in blood, "We need to get her to the hospital."

"No. Just wrap it, it'll heal on it's own." She muttered almost unconscious. Roy knew she was right, he had heard her stories and explaining that to the doctors would be almost impossible. He saw her head tilt towards the body of her dad, "Is he dead?"

They all looked over and saw the mans hand start to lift up and Riza pulled her pistol out and shot him in the head, then looked at her, "Yes he is."

"Thank you." She smiled at the woman before passing out.

Roy looked at Havoc, "You have a spare room right?"

"Yes."

"She's staying with you until she's healed, if you don't already have someone else staying with you." Roy said picking up the girl and wrapping her arm with her cloak, he knew she'd be angry but he'd get her a new one.

"Why don't you want her to stay with you?" Jean asked following him.

"Because I cant afford for anyone else to make a connection between us, this set back was only in paperwork but next time it could be even more dangerous." Roy spoke worried for his sister knowing that if people found out that she would be in danger because of him, "You take her home and wrap her arm and take care of her, report to me every morning and evening other than that you stay with her. I'll take care of your paperwork."

Everyone was shocked at that last part of the statement, he never volunteered to do other peoples work, Jean knew this just solidified what he thought about their relationship. Breda drove them to Havocs home and helped him get her inside without anyone seeing. He placed her on the bed in the spare room and Breda helped him get all the things he needed to wrap her arm. Once Jean was all set Breda left him to return to command to try and cover up that they had even left.

He began wrapping up her arm and couldn't figure out how in the world he was supposed to help an arm was missing over an entire layer of skin heal, he wasn't a doctor, he could barely keep a Band-Aid on. He did each finger individually, knowing that she would probably try to use them as soon as she could, and then began working his way up her arm. When he got to her elbow he checked to see just how far up the injury went and when he saw it went under higher than her vest he got a little worried. He didn't want to undress her, or well at least not without her permission, and what if he did and she woke up during it. His thoughts were interrupted by her starting to stir.

A pain shot up her arm as she tried to move it and when she opened her eyes, her vision was blurry but blonde hair and blue eyes came into focus and she couldn't help but smile, "Jean Havoc, since when do you come in without knocking."

He couldn't help but smile at her, "You're in my house, the Colonel asked that I take you to try and get rid of any suspicion that there's a significant connection between the two of you."

"How kind of you to say yes." She smiled at him, "My knight in shining armor it would appear."

"No, just a guy taking care of his friend." He tried to not get awkward about the fact that she was in his house and he remembered that he would have to clean the place up before she was able to get out of the bed.

"A very sweet guy." She said before trying to look down at her arm, "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad, it goes up past your shoulder." He tried hinting at the fact that he needed to wrap above her shoulder, under her shirt.

"Ah okay, one night in your house and you're already trying to get my shirt off. That's what I heard you were the hopeless romantic and Roy was the dog." She laughed and his face went red, "I'm messing with you Jean."

"Yeah sorry it's just I don't want to make you uncomfortable." He tried to act like that was really the reason.

"You're patching me up, I don't think theres anything about that that should make me uncomfortable." She sat up since he was high enough on her arm to where she needed to take her vest off. She turned her back to him and took off the vest and the shirt underneath it and he tried to look away but her skin looked so appealing, and he fought the urge to reach out and touch her because she deserved so much better than that.

Reyna was glad that he didn't leave the room. She didn't want him to, she wanted Jean to stay with her, she had never felt comfortable with anyone like she did with him, and she didn't know why. She pulled the sheets up to cover her chest and turned back to him so he could finish wrapping her arm. He was so gentle with her, afraid of hurting her and she couldn't help but smile at it.

The smile was soft but Jean could see it and he couldn't help but smile as well. He never thought that he would be smiling while wrapping a bloody arm, but only Reyna could have that effect on him. When he finished he tucked the end into the weave of bandage and looked up at her, "Well you're all done!"

His eyes caught hers and they sat there for a moment just looking at each other, and when he felt the urge to kiss her he forced himself to stand up, "I should let you get some rest and call the Colonel to let him know that you woke up and are fine."

"Yeah." She said looking away from him but once the door shut she fell back into the bed. There had to be something there but he just wasn't going for it for some reason.

Jean leaned up against the wall outside of the room she was occupying, he had almost kissed her, and it probably would have been the most amazing but worst thing that he'd ever done in his life. He felt like these feelings for her had hit him in the face since central. Mustang had been having him with her almost every day for so long and then he didn't make him escort her around at all after they got back and he had missed spending time with her.

"Jean." He heard her call from the room.

He didn't dare open the door, "Yeah?"

"When you call Roy, ask him to have someone send you your dinner. We left it at command when we got the note." She called through the door.

And she said that he was sweet, he couldn't help but laugh, "Alright."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been three days since Jean had been wrapping her arm and he refused to let her out of the bed to do any work, she insisted on cooking him dinner or something to repay his kindness and he wouldn't let her, "Jean Havoc, you let me out of this room this instant!"

He blocked the door, "Your wounds haven't healed all the way yet."

"They're good enough! I'm going to wear bandages on them anyways, so let me out!"

"The Colonel would have my head if he found out I let you do something other than rest, like cook dinner."

"I'm going stir crazy in here Jean!" She groaned and sat back down on the bed.

"I know Reyna, and I'm sorry. You should feel lucky, somehow you're almost healed and that would have taken someone else at least a month to do." He sat down next to her.

"Jean, do you think I'm a freak?" She looked down at her hands covered in white bandages.

"Why would I think that?" He said taking one of her hands.

"Because my father tortured me from the day I turned seven and made me into this thing that heals at an accelerated rate, and gets these black marks from it and it seems as if nothing can kill me." She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean nothing can kill you?"

"I haven't told Roy this because I don't know how to tell him, but I got shot while trying to cross the border into Aerugo, during the Civil War. I should have died from it Jean, I got shot in the heart." His eyes grew wide as she said it and she pulled down to show him the skin just below her collar bone and how it had the same black mark as her arm had.

"None of this is your fault. I don't think you're a freak. I think that if you were to use what has happened to you the way your father wanted you to then you'd be a freak. But this just makes you a victim and you don't even act like that most of the time." He took the side of her face to make her continue to look at him, "So I don't think you're a freak, and I don't know that anyone else does either. We all think of you as an asset to this team, and not just because of this."

He wiped away the tear from her eye and when he put his hand back on the bed it landed on top of hers and he knew that he couldn't avoid another situation like he had before, and he didn't want to. Three days of spending nothing but time with her had proven to him how amazing she was and that he didn't want anyone else. Jean expected her to move back when he started to move towards her but she didn't and it made his heart start beating faster.

Her breath caught in her throat as his nose brushed against her and when his lips sealed over hers she wasn't sure that she was breathing at all. She placed her hand on his chest and he expected her to push him away but she didn't, instead she let it slid up to his neck and held him there. He wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer but when he did the bandages on her arm caught and she winced in pain bringing him back to reality, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's fine it was just my bandages."

"No kiss you I shouldn't have kissed you." He stood up and headed for the door, "The Colonels going to have my head for this."

"What do you mean?" She stood up trying to follow him.

"Mustang will never allow this to happen, you mean too much to him for him to let you have anything to do with me."

"Clearly not if he entrusted you to watch over me."

"Exactly he wanted me to watch over you, not make out with you." He turned around trying not to take this out on her, "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself for even thinking that I could even imagine anything with you, let alone peruse it."

And with that he was out the door. She stood there alone in his house and then the phone rang, she let it until it rang again and that's how she knew it was Roy so she picked up the phone, "Hello."

"Reyna, how are you feeling?" He said with a sad voice.

"I'm fine, what's up?"

"Where's Havoc?" He asked avoiding her question a little while longer.

"He just stepped out." She answered trying not to sound annoyed with him even though the thought of him is what just caused an almost fight between her and the man she had feelings for, "Is there a reason your calling?"

"I need your help, a man name Shou Tucker, he's an alchemist. He went crazy and transmuted his dog and daughter together. You have the most advanced type of alchemy I've seen. Think you can take a look on separating them?"

"Yeah I can see what I can do, but I cant make any promises." She knew the most she could do was heal people but with the marks on her other arm coming in who knows what she could find out she had to do. She went and changed and Jean hadn't returned by the time she was ready to leave so she wrote him a note.

_Jean-_

_Roy called, he needs my help with a case, so don't worry about me. I'm sorry if I upset you I didn't want anything of that sort. Please accept my apologies and I can find somewhere else to stay if that's what you would like. I will return once they are done with what the need me for, I'll probably be at that alchemists Shou Tuckers home. See you soon._

_-Reyna_

* * *

><p>She looked at the chimera and placed her hand on the creatures forehead. Using the knowledge she knew of Alkahestry, she tried to see what she could do about separating the little girl from her dog and when she pulled away she looked up at Roy, "The only thing left of the girl is her hair and brain, the rest has been to merged with the dog for me to even attempt to separate them. She has almost none of her anatomy left."<p>

Riza spoke before Roy, "If ever there was an example of the devils work in this world, this case would definitely be it."

"No, this isn't the devils work, I've seen things like this many times over. My own father was guilty of it, at least he left me somewhat human." Reyna stood and looked at Riza, "This isn't the work of the devil, it's the work of man."

She followed them out as Roy explained how Tucker wasn't that different from the other state alchemists. She felt bad for the young alchemist that had discovered the travesty in the home, she knew Jean had been picking them up after his daily reports to Roy, but she knew the boy had to learn at some point, that the world was an evil and uncaring place that didn't leave much room for innocence, she knew he was bound to lose it at some point.

Before they separated Roy turned to her, "Hues and Armstrong will be coming from central to transport Tucker and Nina there, I want you to accompany them back to make sure nothing goes wrong. That is if you're well enough."

"Yes, of course." She nodded and returned to Jeans home she found him sitting on the couch.

He looked up at her as she entered, "So what happened?"

"Tucker made a chimera out of his daughter and her dog."

"What!?" He stood up eyes wide in horror.

"Yeah I know, that kid Edward Elric was the one that found them." She took her cloak of and hung it on the coat rack, "Maybe it was better that way though."

"What makes you say that?" He sat back down as she joined him on the couch.

She rubbed the back of her neck, "Finding it and hearing about it are two different things. If they had heard about it they would feel as if there was something they could have done, but since they were the ones to discover it they know that there was nothing they could have done to stop him. It'll be tough for them, but they'll get through it. They've already been through enough to know how to deal with pain."

"Reyna…" His voice was soft, he knew she was speaking from experience, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I just wish I had been able to help her. Be the person that I never had."

"I don't want you to leave." He said knowing that it had to come up eventually, he wanted her to stop thinking about Tucker and this was all he had been thinking about since he read her note.

"Well I have to anyways. Roy wants me to go along with the escort of Tucker and his daughter to central." She looked at him, "Maybe some time apart would do us good. Give you time to find someone else if that's what you want."

"It's not but I know it's whats best, for the both of us." He couldn't look at her so instead he lit a cigarette then handed her the pack and lighter.

"I understand. Once I'm completely healed who knows what I'll be capable of, what Roy will need me for, so this is probably for the best." She inhaled.

It hurt him to have to hear what she said, and it hurt him to agree with her, the best of for him seemed to be her but maybe she was right, maybe her time in central would clear both of their heads to see reason. They both sat on the couch in silence and it was deafening.


	5. Chapter 5

They were woken up by the phone echoing through the small home, Reyna happened to make it there first and heard Riza on the other end, "Tucker and Nina have been murdered, the Colonel wants you and Jean to meet us at the crime scene."

"Alright. We'll be there shortly." She said before hanging up the phone. She turned to see Jean still sleepy eyed and worst of all shirtless. Reyna forced herself to look at his face and not his very fit body, "Tucker and Nina are both dead, Roy wants us to meet him there."

He yawned and nodded, "Yup."

He watched as she walked back into her room, she was just wearing a pair of very short shorts and a high cut tank top that was very loose around her figure, how he wished she wasn't so close with the Colonel.

They stood at the crime scene and it was a massacre. It was blood splatters and brain matter. Maes and Roy were talking like this had happened before and they left the room with her and Jean left guarding the room. She tried to listen to what they were talking about but couldn't hear anything until Roy called their names. They walked over to them and Roy was already pushing them towards the door, "Find the Edward Elric right now! He could be in serious danger!"

"Consider them found." She said walking out of the doors and looked at Jean, "You take the streets, I've got the roofs."

He nodded and took off running one way as she lifted herself off the ground with an air burst and landed on a rooftop. The rain made it dark, it was hard to find the blonde haired boy or his armored brother. It wasn't until she saw a light from a transmutation that she had begun thinking she wouldn't find them. She looked over the roof to see Jean on the ground and she yelled at him, "I just saw an alchemic explosion by the river. You go tell Roy I'll see what I can do to keep him away from the brothers!"

Jean took off back towards where Mustang had been and she began following the explosions that were ripping through the streets. She got to the edge of the roof just in time to see Scar moving in on Edward and she noticed pieces of his automail arm all around him. Not waiting for back up she jumped down and landed on Scars back shoving him off of the young boy.

"Who are you that you would challenge me?" The man looked at her though his sunglasses.

"An alchemist, but not one of the state." She smirked at him.

"Then I have no quarrel with you." He turned back to face Edward.

She stomped on the ground and it sent a shockwave through the ground sending him flying away from the boy, "But I have one with you."

Scar then charged her and she quickly avoided his attack. She knew his hand what she needed to stay away from since that's what he was leading his attacks with. She threw him into a wall with an air burst and when he picked himself back up he glared at her, "It appears that you want judgment passed upon you."

She didn't even hear the military cars arrive or notice that Roy and his whole team got out of them, her focus was on the man that was currently trying to kill her, "No judgment can be placed on me that I have already done."

"God's judgment is more powerful than any of you heretics. He had bestowed me the gift to send you all to him." The man clenched his fist and charged at her again.

"If God gave you this job then he is also the one that always makes me test fate, because here I am once again, knocking on the doors of Hell." She moved out of his way using the rain to push him back and send her further away from him, she didn't like him getting to close.

"I hold the weight of the revenge of my people!"

"Revenge shouldn't be found in this way!" She sent bricks up to wrap around his arm so that he would attack anymore but then he shattered it with the alchemy from his arm and was on her faster than he thought possible. Before he got to her a shot rang off into the sky.

Scar moved away from her and set his sights on Roy and when Roy took the challenge both she and Riza knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything. Both of them rushed to the man and as Riza tripped him Reyna shoved him out of the way from the other womans shots, she and her brother rolling away from danger.

"Damn it you two! What was that all about!" Roy yelled at them.

"We all know you're useless on rainy days." Riza said checking to see where the man had went.

Jean couldn't help but smile, "Oh yeah I forgot, it's kinda hard to get a spark going when it's raining."

"You just stay back," Reyna looked at Roy standing up, "Why don't you let the people who don't have issues with water deal with this."

"I'm going to hurt you one day." Roy gritted his teeth at her.

"If this rain ever stops I'm sure you'll put up a good fight." She gave him a cheeky grin.

Scar turned around to face them and was saying how it was fortunate that Roy couldn't create his flames but it distracted him from Armstrong behind him. Reyna helped Roy up and he went on his duties to work on getting the man surrounded. She looked at Jean and motioned him over to Edward, knowing that the boy needed to be taken care of but she had to be ready to help Armstrong if she needed it. Standing in between Jean and Riza she couldn't help but smile as Jean told Armstrong not to destroy the city and with that she sighed and lowered her head as Armstrong took off his shirt.

"Did he really have to strip?" Riza groaned.

"Are you really surprised?" Jean responded supporting Edward.

"Ugh, of all the men in this city I want to see without a shirt he is not the one I would have chosen." Reyna looked away. Once the next alchemic explosion went off she looked back and watched until Riza took her shot and they were all shocked to see that when his glasses came off that he was an Ishvalan. She could see that he felt threatened but he went to take another swing at Armstrong anyways but she saw that the man wasn't ready. Her feet moved before she knew it and she intercepted his swing with her fist and Roy saw it as if it were slow motion screaming out her name.

Her fist and his hand collided, it was the arm that had yet to heal but she knew she had the strength to fend him off with it, the lights from a transmutation went off and caused an explosion that blew off her bandages and caused the ground to cave in. She managed to set off an air burst before she fell under and she flew back sliding on the ground.

Roy thanked Armstrong for distracting him while they got him surrounded and Armstrong replied that it was all he could do to keep up with the man, "In fact I would probably be dead if it weren't for Reyna."

"About that, what were you thinking?" Roy turned to her.

"I was thinking about saving the Majors life." She replied.

"What happened? What kind of alchemy was that you used?" Armstrong asked her.

"I don't know it seems that mine and his counteracted each other and made a ricochet effect, causing an explosion." She shrugged just before Maes showed up.

She couldn't help but laugh as Al began yelling at Edward. She turned to look at Roy with a smile on her face, "Seems familiar."

"Yeah it does." He quietly replied back before she made her way over to them with the rest of the group, picking up her bandages on the way.

Edward looked up at her as she began wrapping up her arm, "Reyna, thank you, for saving me."

"You're welcome, but even with an arm you can fight Edward." She gave him a small smile.

"How?" His eyes grew wide.

"By never giving up." She knelt down to him, "I would fight to the ends of the earth to stay alive to protect my brother, but I would never take someone's word that they would leave him alone if I were to die, he means to much to me to leave his life in the hands of someone I wouldn't trust with my own."

Al piped in, "See I told you, you idiot."

They all laughed and headed back to command.

* * *

><p>Armstrong had left with the Elric brothers and Reyna had continued to stay with Jean, per Roys orders. She was up at the office helping them do some last bit of paperwork when Roy called her into his office, "How's your arm?"<p>

"Fine, completely healed, Jean could have been a doctor." She laughed.

"Glad to hear that, about that trip to central I was going to have you take-"

She cut him off with a sigh, "Without Tucker needing an escort I guess that means it's no longer needed. Too bad."

"Why?" He turned to look at her in his chair.

"Well, uh, Jean, I mean I-" She was no good at lying to her brother, "I have feelings for Jean that need to be taken care of and we- I was hoping for the distance."

Roys eyes narrowed in on her, "If there hadn't of been a 'we' in there then you wouldn't be going to central, but now you most certainly are. I'm putting you under Hues' authority and you won't be coming back until he allows it."

"Wait so you mean that wouldn't allow us at all?!" She stood up from her chair, "What if I had just been testing you!"

"Well either way it wouldn't be allowed!" He slammed his hands on the desk standing up to her. She stormed to the door and flung it open and he called after her, "Where are you going!?"

"To pack my things!" She turned to him and with the most amount of anger he had seen in his sister since she beat her father listened to her say, "I leave for central tomorrow remember?"

"Reyna!" He called and she turned on him faster than he thought possible.

"Roy I'm not a child for you to have to look after anymore. I'm capable of making my own decisions and don't need you to protect me anymore. I came here to be with you, not live under your thumb, I'll go where you send me and do what you say needs to be done, but any other aspect of my life you have no right to control." She swallowed hard when she realized that the rest of his team was watching, "I respect you and your decisions, and as similar as we may be, we are still two different people ,I hope you learn to respect that."

This time he didn't call after her as she left the room instead he just shook his head and muttered, "Women, you can never make them happy."

Riza stood up before he returned to his office, "Sir I'm not sure what you did, but you'd better fix it before she leaves."

He turned and could see the seriousness in her eyes and he could hear it in her voice. He sighed and picked up a piece of paper, wrote something down and handed it to Jean, "Please go pick this up from Maries and take it to Reyna, tell her I'll be there at seven to pick her up."

* * *

><p>Jean returned to his home and found her in the room she had been occupying throwing things into her bag, mumbling angrily the whole time. He knocked on the door and she turned around in a huff to see him smiling at her, "The colonel wanted me to give this to you. Says he'd pick you up at seven."<p>

"Great. Taking me to dinner, always his way of an apology."

"What'd he do?"

"He's sending me to central, for as long as Hues feels like I'm needed there." She mumbled.

"How long will that be?" His heart sunk even though they had discussed that it would be best that way.

"I don't know, with Armstrong with the Elrics it'll probably be at least a week. But it could be until Roys illusive transfer goes through." She walked over and took the box out of his hands and looked at the clock on the wall, she only had an hour to get dressed but she knew it wouldn't take that long.

He shut the door leaving her to change and went himself to go change out of his uniform. Jean sat on the couch wondering who would be ready first Roy or Reyna and honestly wasn't surprised to hear her door open, "Jean, could you hook the back of my dress?"

"Sure." He stood and walked over where she held her hair up and he buttoned the back of her dress. He was amazed by how she looked when she turned to face him, she wore a dark purple knee length dress with matching heals and Roy had even thought to get her gloves that went past her elbows so that the marks on her shoulder only looked like an intricate tattoo that was mostly covered by her hair. Her eyes radiated with her raven hair falling around it and he couldn't take his eyes off her.

She could tell it too. She placed her hand on his chest, "Central is my punishment."

"You told him?" He looked down at her.

"Only about me, I didn't mention anything about you but I guess he assumed. That's why my stay there has no definite time line." He could see the sadness in her eyes.

Jean couldn't stop himself and leaned down gently pressing his lips to hers and he wasn't surprised when she kissed him back. They were interrupted by a knock at the door and they quickly split their lips but he held her there for a moment, "It's going to be a good thing, remember."

He left her to answer the door and saw Mustang just as dressed up as she was and it made him nervous being with the two of them when he was about to take her out on what was most likely a date. Jean couldn't believe that he was letting himself fall for his Colonels girl, one who seems to have been in his life much longer than Hawkeye had and they acted more like a couple than Hawkeye and he did anyways, they were always bickering or spouting some kind of inside joke. He waved to them as they walked away and he couldnt stop his heart from breaking just a little.

"I don't know why you got so mad at me." Mustang said as he opened the car door for her, "You said you wanted to go to central."

"Yes but not for a long time, nor as a punishment for having feelings." She looked out the window.

"Well either way I need you in Central, with my more than likely transfer I need eyes and ears there that aren't going to be over powered by the military. I need to know what I'm transferring to."

"So my feelings were just an excuse for you to stick me there for who knows how long." She looked at him.

"Yes." He smiled at her, it was all a part of his plan.

"Sometimes I wonder about you brother." She shook her head with a smile.

He couldn't help but laugh, "Does this mean that we are going to have a non-argumentative dinner?"

"As long as you don't start anything."

"I never start any of it!" He almost yelled.

"Says the one yelling." She said with a laugh and he realized that she was messing with him like always and he joined in on the laughter.

Jean was asleep by the time she got home and had already left by the time she woke up, Roy saw her off at the train station with Maes and she gave him a hug before last call was heard. When the train started moving she watched as East city, and everyone in it, began to disappear in the distance.


	6. Chapter 6

She wasn't in Central one day with Maes when the library burned down. It made her job with him that much more difficult because most of the reports they were working with were in there. Thankfully Roy had sent given her money for a hotel while she was there so she didn't have to stay with him, as nice as he was.

The day after the library burned down she saw Armstrong in the hallway, "Major! Back from your escort already?"

"The Elrics wanted to get here as soon as they could. They're probably going to spend all of their time in the library from now on looking over notes."

"Sounds like them. I'll have to stop by and see them once Hues lets me have some time off. He's been running me non stop."

"Well the Colonel had his reasons for sending you I'm sure." Armstrong smiled at Reyna and waved as she continued heading to the Lieutenant Colonels office.

* * *

><p>She went with Maes one day to the library when he heard that Ed and Al were in town and that was the first time she got to see them since East City. She listened as they talked just giving Al a wave not wanting to interrupt. When he mentioned how hard it's been dealing with cases since the library burned down she couldn't help but laugh, "Such an understatement I don't think a gopher could find it."<p>

What she said made the two boys laugh and before they realized something and looked to their friend standing beside the table. When they talked and Maes gave her a job and she got really exited Reyna couldn't help but feel bad for the girl especially when he yelled for her to take the rest of the day and the next day off. She looked down at the two boys, "She's thanking you now, but I don't know how long that'll last."

"What are you doing in central anyways? I thought you only worked with Mustang?" Ed leaned back in his chair.

"Well Mustang wanted me to come here." She leaned up against the window, "I get to go anywhere I want without having to worry about military boundaries. That's one of the reasons he keeps me around."

"So your helping the Lieutenant Colonel for him?" Al asked.

"Yeah." She grimaced, "How have you two been?"

"Studying these notes. Think you can give us a hand?" Ed asked and she nodded sitting down taking a look at all these different recipes.

When Maes found out she was helping the brothers as much as she was he gave her all her time to do that, knowing that it's what Roy would want and told her to return to working for him once she was done. They worked day and night and once they had cracked Doctor Marcos code her heart sunk, of all the evil she had seen in the world, nothing compared to this.

Finally Ed had had enough and threw a stack of papers on the floor. She didn't blame him. Brosh and Ross walked in to see what the noise was about and she could still barely believe it when Ed explained it even though she had seen the papers, she had helped decrypt them.

She returned to her hotel room and it made her happy that it was across from the Elrics, she could keep an eye on them while they recovered from what they learned, and she herself needed some recovery. She stayed in silence for a while until she heard banging and Armstrongs voice from across the hall and she quickly got up and opened her door in time to see him break theirs down.

Reyna joined them in their room as they talked about finding the truth hidden within the truth. She was made to leave with Armstrong once they had realized that The Fifth Laboratory was their best bet. Knowing that she would have to report to Maes before the night was up she knew she was going to have to check on the boys since she knew they were going to be checking out that laboratory that night.

She was forced to sit and do paperwork while Maes spoke on the phone with her brother and she was only slightly annoyed that she hadn't come up yet in the conversation. She smiled listening to Maes gush about his family, it was nice that he had one, so few people in the military had a happy family like he did. She was growing to like the man, she had spent close to three weeks with him now and she couldn't help but smile at how completely opposite he was to her brother. Reyna could only imagine what it would be like being around the two of them for an extensive amount of time. But she didn't miss the part of the conversation where Maes congratulated Roy on his transfer to central and she knew it was only a matter of time until she was reunited with her recent friends.

* * *

><p>She heard that the Elrics had been admitted to the hospital but she knew she wouldn't be able to go until Maes went or he let her go, she had become his unofficial lackey and she was happy it was for him and not her brother, that job would be torture. The day after they were admitted Maes decided to pay them a visit and she tagged along. She also broke out laughing when he asked if it was true that Ed brought a young pretty blonde into his room to service him.<p>

No one in the room was surprised when he offered for Winry to stay at his house that night and she knew that his selflessness knew no bounds. Reyna knew it was his daughter's birthday that night and so she said she would stop by if only to see the little girl whom had gotten used to her stopping by all the time to bring things there for Maes or to bring him papers. She couldn't help but laugh when Winry fell just in love with the little girl as Maes was.

She sat there talking with him and the young girl and she listened to his words about how men are and she couldn't help but smile thinking about Roy, or Jean. And she most certainly was reminded of Roy when he pulled his gun out to threaten a group of three year old boys about his daughter.

The next morning she went with Maes and Winry to the hospital to see the boys again and they walked in on Al yelling at Ed. It was an awkward sight, probably like the one that Roys team witnessed on the day he told her she was being sent to central. Or like the almost fight she had with Jean about Roy. She missed them both so much, almost everything reminded her of one of them at least.

They watched on as Winry yelled at Al and after he had run out of the room per her command she realized that they had all seen that and Reyna just looked at her, impressed, "You wanna teach me how to do that?"

Winry couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sure if you were around those two all the time you'd learn."

Once the issue with the brothers was all sorted out they went to work on the information learned at The Fifth Laboratory. They sat there talking until Fuhrer Bradley walked in and they all froze, Reyna especially, she didn't know where she stood with him, if he even knew who she was, or why she was there, the last thing she needed was to get on his radar. The room was tense and he seemed not to notice her and even when he laughed it still made her uneasy. He didn't address her until he hopped onto the window seal when he looked at her, "Oh and Ms. Duval, next time you see your brother, tell him I said hello."

She froze, she didn't even know that he knew her name, let alone about her family. Almost no one knew about the fact that she and Roy were related, they kept it that way for a reason, but she didn't want him to know that, not when her brother was pining for her job, "Of course, I'll let him know."

The next morning she met Maes at his house, picking him up like normal this way if he had any errands he needed done she could do them the moment he told her. She stayed with him all day, looking at reports of murders and riots all day. She was sent to get dinner and he of course was picky and wanted her to go to a restaurant and not the mess hall. When she returned Maes wasn't in the resource room anymore.

"He said he was going to the archive room Ms. Duval." Sheska told her when she saw Reyna with the food.

"Thanks, I'll go find him." She smiled at the poor girl who Maes sorely overworked.

She made her way to the archive room with his dinner and her stomach dropped the second she got there. Blood drops were on the floor and she called his name looking into the archive rooms quickly only to see that he wasn't there. She ran, following the blood drops. It lead her to the phone room and she looked at the girl behind the desk, "Was it Hues!?"

"Yes." And Reyna was back to following the blood before the girl could say another word. Her legs and lungs were burning but she knew something was horribly wrong, he had learned something, something to do with what the Fuhrer had told them to forget. She had to help him, she had to find him.

She was outside following the blood now and she heard the gunshot and made her legs move faster she put a bit of alchemy in every step. When she made it to the phone booth all she saw was the back of someone walking away in the distance but the heavy breathing of Maes stopped her in her tracks.

She quickly dropped to her knees and put pressure on the wound, "Dammit the bullet didn't go all the way through! I can't heal you!"

"Gracia, Alecia…" He muttered.

"Hold on! I'll get you back to them!" She did everything she could to stop him from dying.

Roy picked up the phone to hear Reyna scream, "SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!"

"Reyna!" He yelled back, Riza and Jean could hear it from outside his office and quickly opened the door to see what was wrong, "Reyna answer me!"

"Roy!" She yelled hearing her brothers voice, "There's so much blood, I can't heal him, I don't know what to do!"

He could hear the fear in her voice as she continued to speak, "Maes don't you dare die! Please don't die on me! God...NO!"

He heard the silence, then her voice was clear on the receiver but shaky with tears threatening to break free at any moment, "I'm sorry Roy, I'm so sorry. I need to hang up now, I need to get officers out here."

* * *

><p>Armstrong met Mustang, Riza and Jean at the train station before the funeral. Roy looked at Jean, "Go to Reyna, I have things I have to deal with, but she shouldn't be alone right now."<p>

Jean saluted and headed for her hotel. He had missed her more than he had imagined and when he heard the Colonel yell her name into the phone he had thought the worst, and he felt horrible that he was thankful she wasn't the one that got shot but when she opened the door to let him in, he could tell that she wished she had been.

"Funerals today, are you going?" He asked her as he walked in the room. Her eyes were sad and almost devoid of light.

"Yeah, I was about to get changed." She said and headed into the bathroom, even her voice lacked emotion.

He drove her to the cemetery and she stood back from everyone, she stood by the tree and Jean stood with her, knowing better than to leave her alone in a time like this. She watched the funeral from afar, wishing she could have done something to save him, cringing as his daughter cried out for them not to bury her dad, flinching at every bullet that was shot off. The louder the little girl got the harder it was to fight the tears and eventually Jean saw them streaming down her face.

She remained in the background until Gracia walked up to her, carrying Alecia. Reyna began to bow her head with the widow stopped her, "Reyna, I wanted to thank you, you made sure my husband didn't die alone. That I will always be grateful for, so please don't do this to yourself."

Reyna couldn't do anything but look at the ground, the tears had dried on her face and the woman knew that she still needed time, so she just placed an arm on her shoulder and walked towards her car.

Riza walked up to Roy as he stood by the plot where Maes was now buried. When he put his cover on and a tear fell down his face she looked over and saw Reyna and Jean still standing there, and Reyna was still looking at the ground, "Sir, I think someone might need your comfort right about now."

"Yes, I should go make sure she's alright." He said beginning to walk over to her. He could see her shaking as they got closer to her and he thought it might be hitting her harder than he thought it would, "Reyna."

He was cut off by her fist striking his jaw, knocking his hat off. She looked at him with anger and sadness in her eyes, "Was it worth it!? Is your climb to the top worth it?!"

Roy was in shock by her outburst, "Reyna…"

"NO!" She yelled gabbing his collar and slamming him into the tree, "All you ever feel is the heat from your flame but you've never been burned by it! I'm the one that always takes the bullet! I'm the one that always gets tortured! I'm always the one that gets covered in blood! Not you! I'm always the one left holding the body! Not you! I'm always the one that lives!"

He stood there as her grip loosened and her head fell and her body began to slump, "It could have been you Roy, he knew too much about something, and it could have been you. I could have lost you…"

Roy wrapped his arms around his sister, knowing that this was a lifetime of loss finally breaking through with the death of their friend. The tears were pouring from her eyes again, "I can't lose you, you're all I have left. All I see when I close my eyes is you lying there instead of Maes and it kills me. All I saw while trying to stop his bleeding was you dying in my arms."

As she fell to the ground he went with her, cradling her in his arms trying not to cry, "Reyna, I'll never leave you. Not like that. I'm so sorry to have done this to you."

He held her there as she sobbed into his chest, his sore cheek forgotten and Riza and Jean looking on at the two and they both wore sad smiles watching possibly the saddest reunion ever. Roy didn't know how long it had been before she was only slightly shaking and her breath had evened out and he lifted her head to look at him, "I'm going to learn what I can about Hues' death, Jean, will you take Reyna back to her room and see that she gets dinner? Reyna, I'll be by afterwards to see you I promise."

She nodded at him and he helped her up and she went with Jean to the car they had ridden in as Roy and Riza got into their own car. The ride to her hotel was silent and Jean went to get her dinner while she showered. When he entered the room again she was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest wearing her sleep shorts and tank top. He set the food down in front of her and she thanked him. Nothing was mentioned of either of their feelings they just sat there in a sad silence.

When she was done eating she didn't even ask permission but she curled up into his side and he put his arm around her so that she would be more comfortable and he noticed within moments she was asleep, a sight he could get used to, but he knew that he wouldn't. He was doing the best that he could to get rid of his feelings for her and their time apart was helping him numb them as much as he could.


	7. Chapter 7

Reyna went back to East City with Roy while they were waiting for his transfer date to come and she was in his office the day he ordered his entire team to transfer with him and she couldn't help but laugh when Jean was the only one who had a problem and that was that he had just started dating someone and Roy ordered him to dump her. She and Jean hadn't spoken anymore about their feelings and nothing had come of it since she had been back. She was glad that they had been able to get past it and things were like how they were before she had begun staying at his home after her injury.

The transfer was smooth and Roy gave in to her having her own apartment and she couldn't be happier, she would have her own space and her privacy to do what she pleased, like not get yelled at about walking around in short shorts. Reyna spent most of her free time with Riza though, both of them enjoying another female to spend time with and not always stuck in the boys club. They were on their way home shopping for groceries one night when Black Hayate went on guard and they found it strange until they heard menacing laughing coming from the direction he was growling. When he lunged towards them Riza was quick to draw her gun and fire. When he got back up she drew another and shot off more rounds.

When the armored figure took off its helmet to reveal there was no one inside of it she just hit him one more time with a bullet. He mentioned he knew Alphonse and the two women looked at each other and Reyna spoke first, "Roys gunna wanna see this."

"Yup." Was all Riza replied and watched as Reyna snapped her fingers and the armor was now in shackles from the ground. They called Roy and transported him to the warehouse district where they two women met Falman and Roy there. They all sat in and listened as he told them about the philosophers stone and Lust and Envy, something's she had already heard from when Ed was in the hospital.

* * *

><p>They had decided to leave Falman in charge of watching Barry and the rest of them would go about their business with Jean bringing him updates every day. Every now and then she would go with him just to keep Barry sated since he had gotten a crush on her and Riza from their encounter in the alley way. Today was one of those days. When they walked into the room Barry's eyes lit up, so to speak, "Hey it's the smoking guy! And the pretty alchemist girl! Why don't you stay a while sweetie!"<p>

Jean tried not to show anything when Barry would say things like this to her. He was over her, he was seeing someone else now. He relayed the information from the Colonel and when Falman asked if he had any good news he couldn't help himself, "Indeed!"

Falman got excited and Reyna just rolled her eyes, she knew what was coming. Jean got very excited, "Falman I found myself a girlfriend! She's been really sweet, helping me adjust to the move here and everything, and oh boy is she hot!"

Reyna fought back the groan that was threatening to escape her throat at the last part, she wanted to know what this woman looked like to be considered so hot… She knew better though, she knew she had to act as if she didn't care. She couldn't help but laugh though when Barry asked if she would be fun to chop up. When the visit was over they headed back to Central Command. They worked all through the night. She knew that Roy was figuring out whatever he could to solve Maes' death so she tried her best to help with what she could in the office. And she hated him looking so closely at it.

* * *

><p>She was walking down the stairs outside of Central with Jean, heading out to get some lunch for everyone when she heard Edward call her name. She turned at smiled at the two boys as they ran up to them, "Ed, Al, I didn't know you guys were back."<p>

"We just got in yesterday." Al said.

"Reyna, we know what happened to Hues." Ed spoke with sadness in his voice, "Mrs. Gracia told us that you were the one that found him."

"Yes that's right." Jean could tell that Reyna still had a hard time talking about it.

"I know that you had been working with him for a while and that you two had become close even if you did find him obnoxious at times…" Ed muttered not looking at her, "I guess what I'm trying to say is… I mean…"

"Edward Elric, just spit it out already!" She snapped at him and he looked at her, Jean was shocked by her sudden outburst at the child.

"We're sorry for your loss." He said with his head bowed.

"See, was that so hard?" She smiled at him and the young boy looked up at her as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't let your emotions choke you up, Ed, emotional asphyxiation is an actual cause of death."

"I thought it was the Lieutenants job to give us advice like that. I thought all you did was stomp around and throw people through the air." He gave her a small smile.

"Yes well she isn't around is she?" Reyna smiled wider at him, "Plus I'm not the only one that knows how to destroy a city. We have to run, but we'll see you boys later, I'm sure."

"Yeah okay!" Al said as they both waved.

"See I told you, sometimes them being there is easier than them finding out, especially when it has been so long." She spoke as they turned. Her voice was quiet as they walked, "Jean?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me more about this Solaris girl." Her eyes were focused on the ground in front of her.

"Uh, are you sure?" He felt like this was some kind of a trap.

"Yeah I got so used to Maes always gushing over his family that I miss it." He noticed she had a small smile on her face from the memories of the man.

"Okay." Was all Jean said before he began talking out his new girlfriend, and as much as it hurt her, it made her feel better.

By the time they made it back to command Maria Ross had been arrested and she was in shock, she went straight to Roy, "I know Maria, she was with us during all of it, she wouldn't have killed Maes."

"Are you sure?" He looked up at her.

"I'm positive. She was just as disgusted with what we found out as everyone else. Shes a pawn in this game." She put her hands on the desk and leaned forward, "I'd bet my life on it."

"I'll deal with it, you go home and get some rest." He looked up at her with stubborn eyes.

She sighed, "Alright."

* * *

><p>She sat in her apartment waiting for any news and when she heard an explosion, one that she knew was her brothers she stood and looked out the window. Reyna knew better than to leave once it was the only explosion so she waited, waited for him to come and tell her what just happened, and when she heard the knock on her door she let him in, "What was that all about?"<p>

"Maria Ross." He took off his gloves.

"You killed her!?" She was furious with him until he put his hand up.

"No. After you came to me, Breda rose his suspicons as well, then Barry called to tell me that what she was saying about shooting a bullet protecting the Elrics was true. We know that someone is planning all of this to keep me busy and so I had to deal with it as quick as possible. She is going to be taken out of the country, somewhere safe, I wanted to let you know before word got around. I'm on my way to the autopsy, but I wanted to know, this plan to catch whose running this, who killed Hues, are you in?"

"Do you even need to ask?" She grinned and he couldn't help but return it

"That's my girl." He said before heading towards the door, "You're going to be partnered with Havoc on watching Falman and Barry, you need to keep your identity a secret, I've already done enough to Falman this month so I want to keep him out of it. Whoever comes for Barry, we want them alive."

"Alive and well or just alive?" She asked before he walked out of the door.

"If they're going to hurt you or anyone else, then you hurt them, just don't kill them."

"Yessir." She smiled.

"Havoc will come get you when it's time to move."

"Right."

* * *

><p>She was laying on the floor, mask on her face just like Jean, dying of boredom, "I don't know how you guys do this for a living."<p>

"Well now you'll find paper work exciting." Jean laughed at her.

"I doubt it." She scoffed.

Just then a voice came through the radio, "Jaqueline we have a customer."

They both go up getting prepared to move. He handed her a gun, "You know how to use one right?"

"Yeah aim and shoot, simple enough." She shrugged.

He was a little concerned until a smile snaked across her face before they flung open the door and began firing at the animalistic creature bounding around the room. Jeans smell gave away who he was to Falman and she just rolled her eyes at the two men, "Jean! Focus!"

"Right, lets take it outside!" As they ran outside she realized she was out of bullets and when the creature busted through the glass and was charging at them Jeans gun jammed. The thing was almost on them when a shot rang out and the creature backed off.

She knew that Riza had just saved them. It was only when she heard more shots go off that she began to worry and Jean could see it, "You know our orders!"

"Yeah." Was all she could manage hoping that her friend in the tower was alright.

When the creature began to run she, Barry, and Jean followed only to be cut off by a car driven by Mustang. Reyna looked at him as she got in, "So much for you post."

"Would you shut it?" His eyebrow twitched.

"If you don't even follow your own orders why should I?" He saw her smirk in the rear view mirror.

Before they drove off Al caught up to them and joined causing a very squished Jean but the two were nice enough to let her sit on their laps so that they weren't even more squished. Jean couldn't help but noticed how she tried not to put too much weight on him, tried not to touch him too much, they had become just friends and they both knew that too much contact could ruin that, especially her sitting on his lap.

She listened as Al explained about Homunculi and the Oroboros tattoos, and she remembered something from her youth, a visitor that would stop by every few months to see her father's progress, a woman, with the tattoo on her chest. The more she thought about it the more it sounded like the woman Ed had run into at The Fifth Laboratory. Reyna became angry that they would have anything to do with Maes' death, let alone a military cover up.

* * *

><p>They had gotten lucky, Barry stormed The Third Laboratory and they had an excuse to go in. When they reached the bottom of the stairs Mustang took Reyna and Jean with him. She checked the rooms on the left while they checked the rooms on right. When they went into one room she went into another and she checked every portion of the room. She went to join Roy and Jean and before she turned inside she heard Jeans voice, "Solaris?"<p>

"Hey Havoc, your girls got the tattoo." Roy observed.

"Yeah first I've seen of it, sir." Jean sounded shocked.

"Stop staring it's not polite." When she heard the voice Reyna froze, it was her, the woman that had visited her father while he had been experimenting on her. They continued to talk for a moment before she had caught her breath and knew she had to make a move.

Multiple gun shots went off and that's when she turned to walk into the room. Lust looked up and explained about the philosophers stone in her chest and then her eyes connected with Reynas, "Oh hello there, child. You have grown up."

"Shut up bitch." Reynas gun was aimed at her even though she knew it wouldn't do much good since she was a homunculus. But shooting her would still feel good though.

"Is that anyway to treat the woman who would always bring you treats?"

"You brought nothing but pain and more torture." Reyna snarled.

"Yes well it could have all been fixed if youd let your father finish what he started, now we have to go about it the hard way instead of just having a willing catalyst." Lust smiled and sent a nail to hit her upper thigh, "Tell me have you died yet?"

Jean and Roy were in shock that she was just still standing there with only a slight show of pain on her face. Lust sent out another nail to go through her other thigh, "It looks like you have, you would have passed out from the pain by now if you hadn't. Don't you see we gave you the gift of life."

"It's not a gift I wanted!" She stomped her foot down sending a sharp metal from the ground up through Lusts spears cutting them, but slicing though the flesh on her legs. They disappeared from her leg and Lust whipped her hand back.

"I see that you only have to move to activate a transmutation, you're going to be stronger than we had ever hoped." Lust smiled, "To bad you're going to be the only one here left alive though, the Flame Colonel would have made such a good sacrifice."

She sliced through Roys gun, cutting his cheek and when he went for his gloves she cut the water pipes drenching them. Reyna made her move, "You aren't going to kill anyone you mother fucker!"

The pain in her legs didn't stop her from running up to the woman and using the technique she learned from scar, only half of the transmutation on her face, blowing some of that beauty away. She yelled for the other two to run while she dealt with Lust and they did knowing that there was nothing they could do as she continued to fight.

When Roy and Jean were outside the walls of the room Roy knew what he had to do, "She made a big mistake she flooded the room, a simple transmutation and we have hydrogen gas."

As Jean threw the lighter that Reyna had gave him, he called her name signaling for her to get out of the room. As it passed over her head she slid out on the liquid and he caught her arm pulling her into his body for cover from the explosion. As the flames passed through the door he held her head tight to her chest and was sure to support her body from what he was sure two very painful wounds on her legs.

When they reentered the room Jean picked up his lighter and tried to use it and got upset when no flame was made. He looked at Reyna with an apologetic look and she just gave him a small smile, not really caring about the lighter, just that they were all right. He saw her walking and couldn't imagine how, "You should sit down, I cant imagine how you're still walking."

"Adrenaline." She laughed it off even though it was starting to hurt like hell.

"She's fine if she says she is." Roy spoke and Reyna gave him a curious look, he normally would have sent her away by now to heal. He turned to look at them, "Watch yourselves, for all we know she could still regenerate."

That's why he still wanted her around, she was the only one that could keep up with the homunculus even if she was injured. She turned to look at something replying, "Yessir."

Jean saw the two talons moving before anyone else and ran to shove Reyna out of the way, only passing in front of them before they struck causing them to go through his lower back and the side of her middle back as she was turning in midair as he shoved her. She saw the pain in his eyes as he fell and he was in shock by the time he hit the ground.

Lust completely regenerated and took all five of her fingers and stuck them through Reynas torso, making sure to dig them around before pulling them out, she wanted to make sure that she would be fully covered before they needed her.

She was focused on the man that had tried to save her life, seeing if he was still alive as her brother tried to retrieve the stone from Lust, he stopped to her first, she sputtered, "No Jean needs it more."

Roy didn't hesitate, he had put the pieces together from what Lust had said to her about the gift of life. The woman regenerated before he was able to do anything with the stone and she pieced him through his stomach. She ripped up his glove before leaving the room and she stopped by Reyna, sticking her fingers in five different places, including her neck so the girl wouldn't be able to speak, "Have fun watching them die, I'm sure I'll see you soon."

When she pulled her fingers out Reyna began coughing blood, she knew her lungs had been pieced, not to mention so much more in her body, her entire torso would be covered in the marks soon. Her eyes met Roys and she tried to talk, "D-oonnnt d-d-d-diiiiee."

"Reyna, I'm sorry." He muttered.

She growled in an attempt to yell at him using all of her energy, "NO! FIGURE IT OUT."

His eyes widened as he saw the anger in her eyes, "YOU SAVE JEAN AND YOU LIVE."

He saw a broken piece of glass on the floor and grabbed it, carving into his hand, then he searched around for the lighter that they had used to set off the explosion. Roy knew it was going to be painful but he brought the lighter to his side and sparked the glove searing his wound shut. He almost passed out from the pain but he made himself stay conscious.

When he rolled over to help them he saw the fear in her eyes looking at Jeans unmoving body and noticed that her hand was trying to reach out to him. Roy moved to heal her but she stopped him, "O-o-nly m-m-make it w-w-worse."

He hated himself but he nodded and seared Jeans wounds shut then checked for a pulse, "He's alive. I'll go to the others then get some help for you two."

She nodded a smile forming knowing that Jean was alive. She tried to scoot over to him but she couldn't with the pain. She reached as far as she could and her hand could barely make it to his side but her finger tips made contact and she tried to use her Alkahestry but she had barley started the transmutation when she passed out.


End file.
